“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” – In Roman times, the Roman soldiers worked in groups with massive shields that could be locked together to form walls and a roof around the group. This armour is commonly considered to be the type of shield Paul referred to. This wall of shields was an important protection for Roman soldiers, especially when they stuck their lances or swords through the gaps to make a prickly protective wall. So we are being instructed to take up faith. Two important passages to contemplate here are Ephesians 2:8-9, which reminds us that faith is from God so that we can’t boast we have done anything to earn our faith, and Hebrews 12:2, which reminds us that Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith. Our faith, given by God and our willingness to accept that faith and cling to that faith, is our shield that extinguishes all satan’s attempts to rob us of our faith. He will operate no only by fear, but also by complacency, bitterness (which involves us taking our hurts and trying to deal with them ourselves) or distraction. So we need to be careful to hold on to our faith in God and trust Him to meet our needs. We have to be mindful to not allow convenience and habits to intrude into our lives. If you find your faith is not enough, ask God for more.
“Take the helmet of salvation” – this protects our mind so that satan’s thoughts cannot find a lodging place there.
“and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” – God’s word is “alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) There are two aspects to this. The first is that, as Jesus is ‘the word’ then he is our sword of the Spirit. The second is that we also need to be familiar with the Bible. In Matthew 4, satan used scripture to try to lead Jesus astray. Jesus used scripture back to refute him. Many will quote scripture to you. You must have enough familiarity to accept or reject those words. This is why it is important that Christians should always quote the scriptural source of their words so that others can read the Bible for themselves and decide whether to believe that person’s words. Remember, it is important to consider the context of passages you read. Consider the time the original verses were written, and attitudes that existed then – this will influence the meaning of the words. Also read more than just the quoted scriptures, so that you can understand the context within the book of the Bible that the verse falls. By reading scripture, you also learn more about God. The Bible is a great point to start quiet time with God.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” – We should pray as often as necessary, at least every day. We must support one another in prayer. If you attend a church, do you pray for others in your church? Do you spend at least part of every day in prayer? If we don’t spend time talking to our friends, our friendships die. Our relationship with God is the same. Prayer is the way we relate to God. Also, remember, that we listen as well as talk to our friends. We need to spend time listening to God as well as talking.
So what is the importance of these verses? They contain instructions on how to live our lives. They tell us we must stand firm in our faith, and what aspects that faith contains. They tell us how we are to relate as individuals and as the body of Christ to God. Together we form the Roman phalanx of locked shields. Whether that is to be done within the church or not is what this study is all about.

Due to technical issues this blog is late.

The Bible instructs us on Christian life. Ephesians 6:10-18 is an important instruction.
“be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” our strength lies in God.
“Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” - we put on the armour of God, (which I have heard referred to as putting on Jesus) to take a stand against the spiritual forces of evil. This is about spiritual power. It is about recognising that there are spiritual forces in the world and things cannot just be explained by cold scientific fact. We cannot see the spiritual forces and we cannot fight them. We can only stand against them in God’s strength. The reference to putting on Jesus comes from the fact that we stand in the victory that Jesus won for us.
“Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” - We do not put on the armour to fight a battle, we do it to stand. That may seem easy, but holding firm to our faith in God and trusting Him is the hardest thing to do.
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.” -  in John 14:6, Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. When we put on the belt of truth we put on Jesus, because he is truth. We also remember that we cannot water down our faith by subscribing to the view that there are many ways to salvation. It is here in the Bible, Jesus is the only way to God. Stand firm in that truth.
“with the breastplate of righteousness in place” - We enter the presence of God only because Jesus died to pay for our sins. Jesus has allowed us to be right with God, so we are righteous. Remember Abraham who believed in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:3). We need to not only accept Jesus’ salvation that cleanses us of our sin and makes us righteous, we also need to believe in God because that is also righteousness. We need to add this knowledge to truth, in order to remain standing firm.
“and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace”. – This one has many parts. First there is this beautiful verse from Isaiah:
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God reigns!”  Isaiah 52:7.
There is also the reference to readiness. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples of all nations and teach them to obey everything he had commanded them. We need to equip ourselves with the willingness to proclaim the gospel, and the readiness to do so. We also need to claim the peace of God for ourselves. By that peace, we demonstrate God’s peace to others.
So we need to have the beautiful feet that spread the good news of Jesus, we need to be ready to obey Jesus’ command to spread that news, and we eagerly accept God’s peace for us and to share with those around us.

Due to size issues, I will continue my examination of these verses in my next blog.
You may wonder what this examination of Ephesians 6 has to do with whether Christians have to belong to a church or not. In order to answer that question, we need to know what God wants Christians to do.

Due to illness, I am taking a pause from my series and putting up something I wrote some time ago. I think it is pertinent to my message. I hope you enjoy it.

Some time ago, I watched the movie “A Month in the Country”. For those not familiar with the movie, it set just after World War I in a small English country parish. A man is employed by a church to restore an old, pre reformation frescoe. It is a classic story of the spiritual dryness of so many churches around the world.
The Man arrives with no money to no welcome. When he meets the vicar, it is obvious no hospitality is to be extended to him. He is expected to put himself up. He asks to sleep in the belltower and is grudgingly allowed. Despite knowing he has no money, the vicar offers him no food. The station master, however, a ‘chapel man’ is more hospitable. His wife sends the children around with a pie she has made for him. They invite him around for Sunday meals and to attend their church service. Sadly, although they are hospitable, they are very lacking in understanding of the great joy of faith. Instead their focus is on their extreme sinfulness and their faith is very dour.
Later the man goes to the rectory to get his pay. He discovers the vicar and his wife live in this large empty building with plenty of bedrooms, but did not even consider offering him hospitality. The vicar seems to resent the man’s presence. He doesn’t want the fresco repaired, he thinks is will distract the congregation.
This man, restoring an old fresco in the midst of supposedly Christian community has survived, and is still affected by, the horror of the trenches. He feels God is an unfair God who allows the innocent to suffer and shows no love. He visits a little girl who is dying of tuberculosis and is angry at God’s unfairness.
Why would he think anything else? Where were the Christians walking the Jesus walk? His words are those of so many people today who are equally lost. Our responsibility as Christians is to show them what to do.
At one stage the Vicar commented about the people in his congregation not being interested. He is obviously disillusioned but does not spend time with God seeking His guidance. I realise the job of a pastor is a difficult one, but I can’t help wondering if this man was more on fire for God and lived the example of a joyous Christian life, if the congregation would have responded with more enthusiasm. Pastors have an extra responsibility to teach and guide their congregations.
For me this movie speaks of a need for all of us to watch our relationship with God, as well as out outward evidence of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It saddens me to think of the generations of people who have been turned away from faith in God because we have failed to do as Jesus commissioned us to do and share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, both in the way we live our lives and in our words.